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jewelisfabulous

Covering the electrical junction box

12 years ago

The junction box in our house is on the wall in our laundry room, which is visible from the kitchen. Fortunately, the box is counter-sunk so that the door panel is flush with the wall. I'm wondering what creative ways folks here have come up with to disguise or cover up things like this?

Comments (8)

  • 12 years ago

    Can you put a picture over it?

  • 12 years ago

    Paint it to match the wall.

  • 12 years ago

    You mean the breaker box? I have one that's in the house, too. I found a picture frame that's just a bit bigger than the box and the frame projects out, so when it's hanging on the wall, it completely covers the box. I added a poster with thin plexiglass. It's pretty big, so I wanted it to be lightweight and easy to move when we need to access the box.

    My second idea was to just completely trick out the box...a tassel pull on the ring, colored edging trim and giant letters spelling out "BREAKER." I decided that the idea was too tacky and weird even for me, so I went with the poster instead.

    Another idea...build a fake low profile decorative cabinet and frame it out around the outside edge of the breaker box. Something similar to a bathroom medicine cabinet, if that makes sense. You could even add a cork board or chalk board to the front, if that would be useful in the laundry room.

    If someone was smart, they would just make decorative doors for those things. They're usually in garages and basements where it doesn't really matter, but some of us end up with them in interior rooms, smack in the middle of a wall.

  • 12 years ago

    Hire an artist to paint a picture right over top of the box cover. Then place a frame around the opening. You would have to be up close to see the box. In an emergency you would still be able to get at it.

  • PRO
    12 years ago

    My wife did curtains and a fake window shade.

  • 12 years ago

    When I finished my basement, the carpenter constructed a frame from 1X2 and covered it in drywall then painted it the same color as the wall. It hangs like a picture on 2 drywall screws.. It has held up for many years.

  • 12 years ago

    A conversation with our friendly firemen tell us that disguising breaker boxes is dangerous as, if there's a fire, they need to pull the breakers which they can't do if they can't find the box...and electrical fires can start in the breaker box...so I'd think about blending it in, but not obscuring it, especially with flammable material...

    Note from below: "Combustible or flammable materials less than 3 feet from breaker box" is considered an electrical hazard.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Fire prevention

  • 12 years ago

    If it's a junction box, not a breaker panel, you can do about anything you need to involving camouflage, as long as the cover can be accessed. If it is a breaker panel (sub- or main) code rules for keeping clear access apply, as it must remain free of obstructions within 36".
    In case of a fire, the firemen will pull out the meter, which conveniently for them, is on the outside of the house, and takes about two seconds to do.
    Casey